Time Apart
by Bexs113
Summary: It has been over a year since the final battle with Naraku. Kagame and Inuyasha are dealing with the heartache of losing one another. Will they meet again? P.S. The Most Beautiful Edits go to @Sassybratt
1. Chapter 1

ATT: I do not own any of the Inuyasha world or the characters residing in it. This is my own interpretation of how I imagine the epilogue would've gone. Thank you for reading this. You are indulging in my fantasies and that is extremely special to me. Enjoy.

The walk up the shrine steps seemed to be stretching on aimlessly today and Kagome's legendary patience just wasn't around for it. She had been having a one of those soul crushing weeks. It had started with a particularly grueling set of exams, a half-hearted fight with Yumi about her behavior toward Hojo, coupled with absolutely no sleep, and a sprained ankle. _Yep this is my life now…_ It had been a year and a half, five hundred and forty-nine days, since the scared jewel had vanished from existence and Kagome had been spat out of the well with not so much as a goodbye to Inuyasha.

 _Inuyasha…_

Kagome stopped. Her ankle throbbed and tears were threatening to fall. _No I can't keep torturing myself like this. I can't do this anymore…_ Taking a deep breath she continued her journey upward, pushing her heart ache back down her throat. She couldn't keep worrying her momma, she had come home crying so many times now that warm tea and a couple cookies had started to appear like clockwork on the table top in the hall. All she needed to focus on in this moment were these last twenty steps. Then she could take the long way around the shrine, hit the back door of the house, and take refuge in a nice warm bath. Her ankle would take the extra pain so her heart wouldn't have to deal with passing the well… Or the tree… _Inuyasha…_

"Ughhh…" she grunted with a rough shake of her head. _You'd think I would've learned my lesson by this point._ Her mind was angry at her heart. _"_ _Denying the heart can only lead to more pain and confusion"_ Miroku's voice was thoughtful and wise in her mind. She could see Sango's look of concern, and hear her say _"_ _Kagome don't you think you're being too harsh with yourself?"_

 _Yea… maybe I've run from this long enough… but no. I'm not ready, I can't… I can't say goodbye. Not yet. Please…_ She was bartering with herself again. She took another deep breath. Placing one foot on the top step, Kagome was able to ferociously push her thoughts to the back of her mind. Focusing hard not to look anywhere to her left and instead on which bubble she would put in the bath.

"KAGOME!" Back down the steps she saw a familiar face. "Hojo?" _Oh god.. What is he doing here?_


	2. Chapter 2

Kagome stared down in bewilderment at Hojo practically sprinting up the steps. The flowers in his left hand were shredding in the wind. _Oh no. Please. Hojo, not today…_ Kagome had tried and failed at politely encouraging Hojo to move on. His fantasies of a loving relationship with her were so impossible in Kagome's mind that she didn't have the heart to break him. _If Hojo cared a fraction about me as I care about… Oh god I'm such a creep._

Hojo must have noticed the look on her face because he started to speed up. "Oh no! Kagome is it your ankle? I'm so sorry I didn't get to you faster I could've helped you up the steps!"

His words only laid more self loathing on her shoulders. "No Hojo-it's not-I'm fine-really.." But Hojo was level with her now herding her toward the benches near the shrine.

"Kagome you need to be taking care of yourself. Even if the doctor says its fine to walk with your brace, your ankle still needs plenty of rest and elevation. My father says that time heals-"

Kagome had tried hard but her eyes had glimpsed the tree. Her heart hammered and with a rush of adrenaline she turned to face Hojo. "What are you doing here?"

Hojo stopped. He stared at Kagome as if he were seeing her for the first time. She knew her words had come out too harsh. She hadn't meant to hurt him. As a wave of guilt pushed her to apologize Hojo smiled and said, "I'm here to talk to you silly."

* * *

Inuyasha was pissed. Hell, he was always pissed. In this particular moment however he was livid. His face covered in mud and blood as he looked up at his brother. _How dare this fucker save me…_


End file.
